I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates broadly to containers for storing and protecting items which may be easily damaged; and, in particular, the present invention relates to a container for storing a removable automobile top.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Automobiles have been manufactured which include a removable, hard top that is adapted to be releasably secured to the automobile body and removed from the automobile body to provide the user of the automobile with a convertible. One known automobile of the type described is manufactured and marketed under the trademark MERCEDES BENZ 450SL. This automobile has a hardtop which includes side windows and a rear window and is releasably attached to the automobile body. The top may be simply removed from the automobile body by two persons. Owners of such vehicles normally place the top in an upright position and generally in the corner of a garage, as there is no known simple and inexpensive means for safely storing such tops. These tops are very expensive and therefore must be handled in a delicate manner so as to ensure that the windows, exterior painted surfaces and interior matted surfaces are not damaged during the period in which the car tops are in a stored position. It can be easily visualized how such an automobile top could be inadvertently damaged as a result of many of the normal occurrences which take place in garages if the automobile top is not placed in a secured, protective container. To the knowledge of the inventor, the only containers that are available are those which are fabricated from wood and are in the form of a rectangular shape without a mating contour. These wooden crates are extremely heavy and may not be easily manipulated by the individual automobile owners.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a light-weight, protective container for storing automobile tops of the type described.
III. Prior Art Statement
The aforementioned description of the prior art includes, in the opinion of applicant, the closest prior art of which the applicant is aware.